Telephone Nuisance

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will press Ofcom to use its powers to prevent silent calls.

Alun Michael: I am confident that the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the independent regulator for the communications sector, will do everything in its power to prevent silent calls. Ofcom deriving its main powers and duties directly from statute rather than by delegation from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, so it is accountable to Parliament in its own right. The Government take the issue of silent calls very seriously because of the distress they cause to consumers. My officials are in regular contact with Ofcom and encourage us to use its powers effectively to the fullest extent.

Further Education

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils aged 16 to 18 have been educated in (a) further education colleges and (b) sixth forms in schools, in England since 2000, broken down by local authority.

Bill Rammell: pursuant to the reply, 10 October 2005, Official Report, c. 344W
	The accompanying tables contained an error—the columns were transposed and incorrectly labelled.
	
		Participation in full-time education of 16 and 17-year-olds by local authority in England, end 2000 onwards Number
		
			  School sixth forms (including independent) FE colleges (including sixth form colleges)(1) 
			  2000 2001 2002 2003(2) 2000 2001 2002 2003(2) 
		
		
			 North East 16,000 16,800 17,000 17,100 23,200 23,600 24,000 24,100 
			 Hartlepool 300 300 300 300 1,300 1,200 1,200 1,300 
			 Middlesbrough 300 300 300 400 2,300 2,300 2,200 2,300 
			 Redcar and Cleveland — 100 100 100 2,100 2,100 2,100 2,300 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 700 800 800 800 2,600 2,600 2,600 2,600 
			 Darlington 200 300 200 200 1,300 1,300 1,300 1,400 
			 Durham 3,200 3,500 3,400 3,400 3,900 4,000 4,000 3,900 
			 Northumberland 3,700 3,800 3,800 3,800 1,400 1,300 1,300 1,300 
			 Gateshead 1,700 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,100 1,400 1,400 1,400 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 2,900 3,000 3,100 3,200 1,100 1,200 1,100 1,100 
			 North Tyneside 1,500 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,500 
			 South Tyneside 300 300 400 400 1,700 1,900 2,200 2,100 
			 Sunderland 1,000 1,200 1,300 1,300 2,900 3,000 3,100 3,100 
			 North West 39,800 40,500 41,000 41,200 68,800 70,900 73,900 74,800 
			 Halton 500 500 400 400 1,400 1,500 1,800 2,000 
			 Warrington 1,300 1,300 1,300 1,300 1,800 1,800 1,900 2,000 
			 Cheshire 6,500 6,300 6,400 6,500 5,000 5,200 5,400 5,100 
			 Cumbria 4,600 4,800 4,700 4,800 2,900 3,100 3,000 3,100 
			 Bolton 1,800 1,800 2,000 2,000 2,800 2,700 2,700 2,800 
			 Bury 500 600 600 600 2,500 2,700 2,800 2,800 
			 Manchester 2,000 2,000 2,100 2,200 4,800 5,000 5,500 5,600 
			 Oldham 1,200 900 900 900 2,800 2,900 3,000 3,000 
			 Rochdale 800 1,000 900 900 2,200 2,200 2,400 2,500 
			 Salford 100 200 200 200 2,400 2,600 2,800 2,800 
			 Stockport 600 700 800 800 4,100 4,000 4,100 4,100 
			 Tameside 300 300 300 300 2,900 3,100 3,100 3,200 
			 Trafford 1,700 1,600 1,600 1,700 1,800 1,800 2,000 2,100 
			 Wigan 500 600 600 500 3,800 3,900 4,100 4,100 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 600 700 700 700 2,000 2,100 2,200 2,200 
			 Blackpool 300 400 400 400 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,700 
			 Lancashire 4,800 5,100 5,000 5,100 13,300 13,300 13,700 13,900 
			 Knowsley 300 700 700 700 1,800 1,900 1,900 1,900 
			 Liverpool 4,300 4,300 4,500 4,500 2,500 2,700 2,800 2,900 
			 St. Helens 1,000 900 900 900 1,900 1,900 2,000 2,000 
			 Sefton 2,600 2,300 2,400 2,300 2,900 2,900 2,900 3,000 
			 Wirral 3,400 3,500 3,600 3,700 1,900 2,100 2,000 2,100 
			  
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 34,700 35,500 36,100 36,600 40,400 42,200 43,200 44,000 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 2,900 2,900 2,900 3,000 2,200 2,200 2,400 2,500 
			 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 500 700 700 700 2,700 3,000 3,100 3,400 
			 North East Lincolnshire 400 500 500 500 2,100 2,200 2,300 2,300 
			 North Lincolnshire 300 300 300 300 2,300 2,300 2,400 2,500 
			 York 1,200 1,400 1,300 1,400 1,600 1,700 1,600 1,600 
			 North Yorkshire 6,100 5,700 5,800 5,900 3,500 4,300 4,100 4,200 
			 Barnsley 300 400 400 400 2,400 2,500 2,500 2,600 
			 Doncaster 2,600 2,600 2,700 2,800 1,700 1,700 1,800 1,700 
			 Rotherham 1,800 1,500 1,500 1,500 2,300 2,300 2,400 2,400 
			 Sheffield 2,100 2,500 2,600 2,800 4,200 4,100 4,300 4,600 
			 Bradford 5,200 5,900 5,800 5,900 2,600 2,600 2,800 2,700 
			 Calderdale 2,000 2,000 2,100 2,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100 
			 Kirklees 1,700 1,800 1,700 1,600 4,500 4,600 4,600 4,600 
			 Leeds 6,000 5,700 5,900 6,000 4,100 4,400 4,600 4,700 
			 Wakefield 1,700 1,700 1,800 1,700 3,100 3,200 3,200 3,200 
			  
			 East Midlands 35,600 36,200 36,700 37,700 28,300 30,200 31,000 31,300 
			 Derby 1,500 1,600 1,700 1,700 1,900 1,800 1,800 1,800 
			 Derbyshire 5,700 5,900 5,900 6,000 4,400 5,100 5,300 5,400 
			 Leicester 1,000 1,300 1,400 1,500 3,900 4,100 4,200 4,300 
			 Rutland 600 700 700 700 400 400 400 400 
			 Leicestershire 7,000 6,900 6,800 7,100 3,300 3,400 3,500 3,500 
			 Lincolnshire 5,800 5,600 5,500 5,800 4,000 4,500 4,500 4,500 
			 Northamptonshire 6,600 6,700 6,900 6,900 3,300 3,500 3,600 3,900 
			 Nottingham 1,100 1,300 1,400 1,500 2,600 2,700 2,700 2,600 
			 Nottinghamshire 6,200 6,200 6,300 6,400 4,500 4,800 5,000 5,100 
			  
			 West Midlands 39,100 40,100 40,700 41,700 46,600 47,300 48,700 49,400 
			 Herefordshire 600 700 700 600 2,000 2,100 2,100 2,200 
			 Worcestershire 5,300 5,300 5,300 5,600 4,300 4,400 4,500 4,600 
			 Telford and Wrekin 800 600 700 700 1,900 1,900 2,000 2,000 
			 Shropshire 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,900 3,000 2,900 3,000 3,200 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 300 500 500 500 2,900 2,800 2,800 2,800 
			 Staffordshire 7,500 7,600 7,700 7,900 5,600 5,800 5,600 5,800 
			 Warwickshire 4,200 4,200 4,300 4,500 4,000 4,000 4,200 4,200 
			 Birmingham 7,500 7,700 7,800 7,800 9,600 9,900 10,200 10,000 
			 Coventry 3,000 3,100 3,200 3,300 1,900 1,900 2,000 1,900 
			 Dudley 400 600 600 600 3,700 3,700 4,000 4,100 
			 Sandwell 1,000 1,200 1,300 1,500 2,800 2,900 3,100 3,000 
			 Solihull 1,300 1,200 1,200 1,200 2,300 2,400 2,500 2,400 
			 Walsall 2,700 2,800 2,700 2,700 1,500 1,400 1,500 1,600 
			 Wolverhampton 2,500 2,700 2,700 2,800 1,200 1,200 1,400 1,500 
			  
			 East of England 48,100 49,000 49,800 49,800 38,700 38,300 40,100 41,900 
			 Luton 200 400 400 500 2,900 2,800 3,100 3,100 
			 Bedfordshire 4,800 4,900 5,100 5,000 1,700 1,800 2,000 2,100 
			 Peterborough 2,000 1,700 1,700 1,600 800 800 900 900 
			 Cambridgeshire 3,700 4,100 4,200 4,100 5,200 5,300 5,300 5,600 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1,400 1,200 1,300 1,300 1,200 1,100 1,200 1,200 
			 Thurrock — 100 100 100 1,800 1,900 1,900 2,000 
			 Essex 9,100 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,800 10,400 10,900 11,300 
			 Hertfordshire 14,400 13,700 14,200 14,500 5,600 5,300 5,300 5,400 
			 Norfolk 5,500 5,800 5,700 5,600 5,500 5,400 5,800 6,100 
			 Suffolk 6,900 7,100 7,000 7,000 3,300 3,600 3,800 4,100 
			 Greater London 58,700 62,300 63,900 67,100 54,700 56,200 59,200 59,800 
			 Inner London 17,100 18,600 19,000 19,800 21,800 22,500 23,900 24,100 
			 Outer London 41,700 43,700 44,900 47,300 32,900 33,600 35,200 35,800 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,300 1,300 1,300 1,400 1,000 1,000 1,100 1,200 
			 Barnet 4,100 3,800 3,900 4,100 1,800 1,900 1,900 1,900 
			 Bexley 2,000 2,100 2,200 2,400 1,300 1,400 1,400 1,400 
			 Brent 2,300 2,800 2,900 3,200 2,100 2,200 2,300 2,200 
			 Bromley 4,100 3,800 3,900 4,000 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,100 
			 Croydon 2,300 2,700 3,000 3,200 3,300 3,300 3,500 3,600 
			 Ealing 2,300 3,200 3,300 3,400 2,300 2,200 2,300 2,300 
			 Enfield 3,000 3,100 3,000 3,100 2,000 2,000 2,300 2,300 
			 Enfield 3,000 3,100 3,000 3,100 2,000 2,000 2,300 2,300 
			 Greenwich 1,700 2,000 2,100 2,300 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,500 
			 Harrow 800 2,000 2,100 2,200 2,700 2,800 2,800 2,800 
			 Havering 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,100 2,600 2,600 2,700 2,700 
			 Hillingdon 2,900 2,800 2,800 2,800 1,300 1,400 1,600 1,600 
			 Hounslow 2,800 2,100 2,200 2,200 1,400 1,500 1,500 1,500 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,900 1,600 1,600 1,800 900 900 900 900 
			 Merton 900 1,300 1,400 1,400 1,500 1,400 1,500 1,600 
			 Redbridge 4,100 3,600 3,500 3,700 1,200 1,400 1,400 1,400 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,000 1,300 1,300 1,400 1,400 1,500 1,500 1,600 
			 Sutton 2,600 2,000 2,100 2,200 1,000 900 1,000 1,000 
			 Waltham Forest 800 1,300 1,300 1,300 2,600 2,700 2,900 3,000 
			  
			 South East 70,200 70,700 71,800 73,200 63,200 64,700 67,000 69,200 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,300 1,400 1,400 1,400 700 700 700 800 
			 Reading 1,400 1,500 1,500 1,500 700 800 800 700 
			 Slough 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,200 800 900 1,100 1,000 
			 West Berkshire 2,600 2,300 2,200 2,300 600 600 700 600 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 2,200 2,100 2,200 2,300 600 600 600 500 
			 Wokingham 1,900 2,000 2,100 2,300 800 900 900 800 
			 Milton Keynes 1,900 2,400 2,400 2,500 800 1,000 1,200 1,300 
			 Buckinghamshire 6,600 6,400 6,700 6,700 2,000 2,200 2,100 2,000 
			 Brighton and Hove 1,600 1,500 1,500 1,500 2,100 2,100 2,100 2,200 
			 East Sussex 3,100 3,300 3,100 3,200 4,800 4,900 5,200 5,300 
			 Portsmouth 500 500 500 400 2,200 2,300 2,500 2,700 
			 Southampton 400 400 400 300 2,500 2,700 2,600 2,600 
			 Hampshire 2,900 3,200 3,200 3,200 17,100 17,700 18,200 19,100 
			 Isle of Wight 1,400 1,400 1,400 1,400 800 800 800 800 
			 Kent 16,100 16,100 16,400 16,900 6,800 6,800 7,300 7,500 
			 Medway 2,800 2,700 2,800 2,900 1,600 1,600 1,700 1,500 
			 Oxfordshire 6,600 6,900 7,000 7,200 3,500 3,100 3,000 3,200 
			 Surrey 10,200 10,200 10,500 10,500 8,200 8,500 8,500 9,100 
			 West Sussex 5,500 5,300 5,400 5,500 6,700 6,600 7,100 7,300 
			  
			 South West 42,200 42,700 43,300 44,500 37,900 38,400 40,000 40,800 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,500 2,200 2,100 2,100 900 900 1,000 1,100 
			 Bristol, City of 2,600 3,000 3,200 3,100 2,700 3,000 3,000 3,200 
			 North Somerset 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,600 1,500 1,500 1,600 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,400 2,300 2,200 2,300 1,500 1,500 1,600 1,600 
			 Cornwall 2,900 3,000 3,000 3,000 5,600 5,500 5,700 5,600 
			 Plymouth 3,100 2,900 2,800 2,900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,200 
			 Torbay 1,300 1,200 1,200 1,300 700 700 700 700 
			 Devon 4,900 5,500 5,700 5,900 5,700 5,600 5,700 5,900 
			 Bournemouth 1,100 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,200 1,200 1,300 1,200 
			 Poole 1,500 1,400 1,500 1,600 900 900 900 800 
			 Dorset 4,200 4,500 4,500 4,800 2,100 2,200 2,400 2,300 
			 Gloucestershire 6,000 5,900 6,200 6,400 3,400 3,400 3,600 3,700 
			 Somerset 3,400 3,500 3,600 3,700 5,300 5,400 5,500 5,600 
			 Swindon 400 400 300 400 2,200 2,400 2,500 2,800 
			 Wiltshire 4,200 4,400 4,400 4,400 3,100 3,200 3,300 3,400 
			  
			  384,400 393,900 400,200 409,000 401,800 411,700 426,900 435,300 
		
	
	(1) Further education colleges will include a small number of 16 and 17-year-olds in HE institutions.
	(2) Provisional.

Child Benefit

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have received child benefit in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) Staffordshire, (c) the West Midlands and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 25 October 2005, Official Report, columns 305–06W, to the hon. Member for Jarrow (Mr. Hepburn).

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will obtain an answer from the chairman of HM Revenue and Customs to the letters to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 18 August and 23 September with regard to Mr K. Akhtar, following reference of that case to the chairman by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in July.

Dawn Primarolo: I wrote to the right hon. Gentlemen on the day that he tabled his question.

Gift Aid

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reasons his Department has re-interpreted the arrangements for charities which can disregard admission charges in return for gift-aided donations;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact of free admission to larger museums on smaller charities, with particular reference to Gift Aid.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to him of 21 October 2005, Official Report, column 1312W.
	Free admission to certain larger museums was introduced by the Department for Culture Media and Sport in December 2001. HM Revenue and Customs have not made any assessment of the impact of this measure on smaller charges.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Eastleigh of 13 October 2005, Official Report, column 417W, on self-invested pension plans, if he will make a statement on what would constitute abuse of the new rules.

Ivan Lewis: The Government keep all aspects of the tax system under review and as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury made clear, if there is any evidence of abuse in this area, we will take appropriate action to stop it.

Hon. Members' Offices (Broadband)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Leader of the House how many hon. Members' constituency offices have been connected to broadband; and how many hon. Members who have applied for broadband in their constituency offices have been waiting to be connected for (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years and over.

Nigel Griffiths: 404 current Members have been connected to broadband in their constituency by the Parliamentary Communications Directorate (PCD). In addition to this number, some Members may have made their own arrangements to procure a broadband connection in their constituency, for which there are no central records.
	The broadband connection is needed to support Parliament's Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. Where Members have the upgraded Personal Computer necessary to support VPN, orders to install are generally being completed within 28 days of their receipt.
	Not all Members took up an invite to upgrade their personal computers and this has resulted in a very small number of MPs who have recently requested broadband and VPN services without the necessary upgraded Personal Computers to support it. However, they will have their equipment replaced in the first phase of a large PCD project due to commence in November and this will ensure that their requests can be met.

Discharge Statistics

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel (a) opted for an early discharge from duties, (b) opted against extending their service and (c) have been medically discharged in the last 12 months.

Don Touhig: In the 12 month period ending 1 August 2005,12,640 service personnel applied for premature voluntary release (PVR) and 9,200 service personnel outflowed on PVR.
	PVR is defined as all applications and exits from trained personnel that are generated by the individual before their time expiry. Types of engagement and procedures for premature release differ between the services.
	For the naval service data is provided for those who were specifically given the option of extending their service, in the 12 months to 1 August 2005.
	
		Officers
		
			  Offered Accepted Didn't accept 
		
		
			 Total 320 310 (15)— 
			 IC(16) to CC(17) 250 240 (15)— 
			 CC(17) to FTC(18)(19) 70 70 (15)— 
		
	
	(15) Denotes zero or rounded to zero
	(16) Initial Commission (usually 6 to 8 years)
	(17) Career Commission (to latter of 16 years or age 38)
	(18) Full Term Commission (age based depending on rank)
	(19) Extended Service is only offered to personnel who put themselves forward and no record is kept of personnel who could have put themselves forward, but chose not to.
	
		Other ranks: 1st open engagement (22 years) to 2nd open engagement (extra five or 10 years)
		
			  Offered Accepted Didn't accept 
		
		
			 Total 1,560 1,310 230 
			 Royal Marines (Dec Board) 230 180 30 
			 Royal Navy (May Board) 1,330 1,130 200 
		
	
	Not all individuals are given the option of extending their service, and it is not possible to identify how many people would or would not have opted against extending their service if given the choice. The option to extend service can be offered over a year before the current service is due to end.
	The Army has no mechanism for recording when an individual chooses not to extend their service.
	For the Royal Air Force, in the vast majority of cases it is not possible to tell whether an individual reaching the end of an agreed period of service has been offered the opportunity of further service. It is consequently not possible to tell how many personnel have turned down any offers.
	In the 12 month period ending 1 August 2005, 1,180 service personnel outflowed on a medical discharge.

Antisocial Behaviour

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the 100 antisocial behaviour response courts.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	Following their establishment in summer 2004, a survey of the original 12 antisocial behaviour response courts was undertaken in autumn 2005. This survey took the form of court visits and meetings with representatives from the courts and other local agencies. The evidence gathered was used in the development of the antisocial behaviour response court model and in the production of a good practice guide.
	Since the roll out of the model across England and Wales and the establishment of 154 antisocial behaviour response courts, further surveys have been undertaken. Areas have been required to complete a written self-assessment, outlining how they have implemented the framework. Interviews have been conducted with local Crown Prosecution Service representatives to provide an independent view of progress. A multi-agency conference on the courts and antisocial behaviour last week provided a further opportunity for feedback on the performance of the antisocial behaviour response courts.

Antisocial Behaviour

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs of the antisocial behaviour response courts have been, broken down by (a) court and (b) month since their inception.

Harriet Harman: I have been asked to reply.
	With support from staff working at the headquarters of Her Majesty's Courts Service, it has been possible to establish the antisocial behaviour response courts on a costs neutral basis.
	Antisocial behaviour response courts take existing case loads and process them in accordance with six core principles: close inter-agency working; swift and effective case management; specialist sessions, where appropriate; targeted training for magistrates; awareness of local issues and concerns; and high level witness care. To support this, each area has an antisocial behaviour champion, who undertakes this role alongside existing responsibilities.
	Within the framework outlined above, it is a matter for local management to decide how best to utilise existing resources in order to meet local needs.